A Nasty Surprise! - But a nice end to the day

Friday September 27, 2019
Days 42 on the Loop – Grand Rivers, KY (Green Turtle Bay Marina) (0 miles)

Nathan from Green Turtle Bay Marina Boat Works came on board to change the oil and filters, and do a couple of other tasks.  While I was away he had fixed the fridge (which was coming loose from its mountings) and the raw water wash down pump, that had failed due to a corroded fuse holder.  The raw water wash down pump is very helpful when bringing up a muddy anchor!

The two filters that separate out any water in the diesel fuel needed to be replaced.  However, when he opened up the packages we found that the whole assembly (not just the canisters) were in the boxes.   Nathan thought that this might be how they came, so the whole unit was replaced, but I later looked it up online and found that the canisters can be purchased alone.  The boat yard will only be charging me for canisters, which I appreciate.

The nasty shock came when Nathan took out the sacrificial zincs/anodes on the engine.  Anodes are used to protect metal structures (like engines) from corroding. They work by oxidizing more quickly than the metal it is protecting, being consumed completely before the other metal reacts with the electrolytes.  Normally, these are replaced when they are about 1/2 gone, but the two we looked at were completely corroded away.   I immediately made a couple of phone calls to order more, but they will not be here till Monday.    This means that the boat ride I had hoped to give Matt and June will not occur tomorrow.   😢   

I am really hoping I caught this in time, before any real damage occurred.  I thought these were changed out by Winter Island Yacht Yard in Salem, but had not checked for myself, which I should have done.  The other option, which is also quite frightening, is that they were changed out but have been used up since I have started using the boat in July.  I will definitely be checking these frequently from here on out!!!

The heat has returned, so apart from the times when I was helping Nathan with the oil and filter changes, I have mostly been inside (in air conditioned comfort!) planning out the route from here to the AGLCA Rendezvous, in Rogersville, AL.

The day ended on a more positive note when Nathan stopped by with his wife Cassi and invited me to join them for dinner.   We went to the Thirsty Turtle (we are at Green Turtle Bay Marina!) and had drinks and a Taco Pizza (really good), then went to their lovely house boat for more drinks and a really nice evening.   Good way to end the day, and Nathan reassured me that it would be OK to take Matt and June out for a boat ride tomorrow, even with the zincs being fully used up.  





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